Fic: The Sea After a Storm (59/?)
Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 59
Rating: R
Warnings: Nothing really, just didn't feel like changing the rating
Spoilers: Season Two thru Adam (2x05)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Catherine Tregenna for situations and dialogue borrowed from Adam. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: Jack's unwavering faith in Ianto saves the day…
Notes: Sorry sorry! I'm a week late. My posting will really depend on whether I'm having a 60 hour week at work, or just a 50 hour - somehow those last 10 hours just kill me. Thanks again to everyone who's reading and commenting! You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Fifty-Nine
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: Ianto discovers who Adam really is and pays a terrible price for his realisation…
Ianto shakes his head and tries to remember why he's sitting on the floor of the Hub in the dark. Based on how stiff he is, he has to imagine he's been on the cold concrete for a while. He slowly drags himself up until he can reach his computer. A few clicks and he verifies that everyone has left, he's alone in the Hub. He glances at his watch. It's after three, the bars will be closing soon… He's overwhelmed with the desire to go hunting. He can almost taste it. No! He clenches his fists and pounds them against his temples. I won't do it again, I won't! His head aches, it feels as if he's been hitting it against a brick wall. He slumps back to the floor, cradling his head in his hands. I won't leave, I won't hurt anyone, I won't go out there…
Minutes, maybe hours later, Ianto isn't sure, Jack walks through the cog door. Ianto makes up his mind in that instant. He's not strong enough to stop himself. He needs Jack to stop him, to lock him away where he can't hurt anyone again.
"Jack," he whispers, the faint sound carrying across the silence of the Hub like a whip.
Jack freezes for a long moment and then turns and spies Ianto huddled on the floor by the spiral staircase. He lets out a sigh. "Ianto," he says, the relief so clear in his voice that Ianto wonders who he'd been expecting.
"Hey," Jack says as he approaches Ianto's workstation. "What's wrong?"
Ianto feels his heart breaking, but he forces himself to confess to his Captain. "You have to put me in the vaults," he says, unable to hold back his tears. "Lock me up. I killed three girls. Strangled them."
Jack stares at him, disbelief fighting with anger in his expression. "Stop kidding around."
"I'm serious," Ianto says, meeting Jack's eyes. "I murdered them in cold blood. I took their bodies and -" He's suddenly assailed with a memory of how small, how light the body of the third girl was. She felt like a bird in his arms. He's on his feet, seeing both the Hub and the abandoned warehouse where he buried the girl at the same time, the images overlapping and merging, confusing him.
Jack steps back, concern replacing the anger on his face.
"You have to lock me away," Ianto begs. "Before I turn on you. None of you are safe!" He heads for the stairs to the vaults, meaning to lock himself in a cell if Jack won't do it.
"Hey," Jack calls out, grabbing Ianto's arm when he doesn't respond. "Hey, come here. Come here!" Jack stills Ianto's flight, holds him by the shoulders so he can look in his eyes. "What's happened to you?" he asks.
Ianto can't answer. He doesn't know how he turned into something so evil. He can barely meet Jack's gaze, shame coursing through his body.
Jack pulls Ianto into his arms, wrapping him in a tight embrace, and for the first time in ages, Ianto feels like he's right where he belongs. He forgets everything for a moment but the feel of Jack's body against his and the touch of Jack's hand on his hair and wonders why being held by Jack feels so right. But then it all comes crashing back.
"I'm a monster," he whispers.
Jack is silent for a few heart beats and then he shakes his head. "You're not a monster, Ianto. Tell me why you're saying these things."
"Because they're true," Ianto moans. "I can't live with it anymore, you have to lock me away, keep them safe." He tries to pull away but Jack simply tightens his arms.
"No, stay here, talk to me. How... no, wait, when did you kill these girls? Give me some details."
"I… I don't remember," Ianto admits. "It was raining," he adds with a sniffle.
Jack snorts. "That hardly narrows down the timeframe." He loosens his arms enough that he can look at Ianto directly. "What did you do tonight after I dropped you off. You were fine then. What happened between then and now."
"N-nothing," Ianto says. He wrinkles his brow as he tries to remember. "Tosh and Owen were working on that artefact… I was going to help… I came upstairs to… to look for… something, I can't remember."
Jack shakes his head. He lets Ianto go, but only so he can cup Ianto's face between his hands. "I don't believe this. Not of you."
"But I can remember…" Ianto whispers.
Pulling him close, Jack shakes his head again.
Ianto clings to Jack, wishing he has the right to stay in Jack's arms, wishing this is where he belongs.
"Come on," Jack murmurs after a few moments, stepping away from Ianto. "I have an idea how to prove that you didn't kill anyone. Come on," he repeats when Ianto simply stands where Jack has left him.
Jack walks over to his office and tosses his greatcoat on the chair. Out of habit, Ianto picks up the coat and hangs it properly on the coat rack while Jack opens the secure archives and begins searching for an item.
"Get comfortable," Jack orders as he waits for the correct container to spin around to the front of the safe.
Ianto hesitates and then follows Jack's command, removing his suit coat and rolling up his sleeves. He sits in the chair opposite Jack's desk as Jack finds what he's looking for.
"Okay, I want you to tell me everything you remember about these murders you say you committed," Jack says. He sets a machine on his desk and perches on the edge, fastening electrodes to Ianto's forearms. "I want details, anything you can think of."
Ianto nods, willing to do anything Jack asks.
Jack places the last piece of the machine in its slot and focuses the green light at Ianto. "Best lie detector on the planet," he explains. "If something's untrue, the light turns red. Go."
Ianto takes a deep breath. He forces himself to remember his first victim. "My… hands… on her throat." He starts to tremble with the memory. "It felt so good, squeezing the life out of her."
Jack rests his chin on his hands, watching at the light remains a steady, bright green.
"It reads as truth!" Ianto cries.
Jack takes a breath and looks Ianto square in the eyes. "I don't believe it," he says roughly, ignoring all the evidence in front of him. Without dropping Ianto's gaze, Jack speaks again. "Okay, tell me about the second girl."
Ianto feels tears start to fall. He stifles a sob. "She tried to get away… but I was too quick. Pleading… and I… I didn't care. Something in me wants to kill."
"No," Jack says with a small shake of his head. "This is not you." He grabs the green light and rips it out of the machine as he stands up. "Something's changed you." He lets his hand rest heavily on Ianto's shoulder as he walks past him. "You're not a murderer. I'm certain of it."
Ianto clings to the conviction in Jack's voice, hoping against hope that he could be right. But then the memory of that cold, rainy alley hits him and he starts to shake. He knows he's a killer, he can feel it in his bones. With trembling fingers, he peels the electrodes from the lie detector off his arms and slowly stands. When he's sure his knees won't buckle, he joins Jack in the Hub.
Jack is standing at the nearest workstation, reviewing footage from the internal CCTV. Ianto starts to collapse, holding his head in his hands as pain rips through his skull again. He grabs the banister to keep from falling and lets himself drop onto the stairs behind him. Ianto stares at the computer, tries to focus on the images Jack is pulling up, but all he can see are the faces of his victims. When Jack turns to look at him again, Ianto cringes, sure that Jack has found proof of his crimes. He resists at first when Jack tries to pull him up, not wanting to see the belief in him fade from Jack's eyes.
"Come here," Jack says. "Come here!"
Ianto lets himself be pulled up and over to the computer. Jack positions Ianto in front of the monitor and wraps his arm around Ianto's shoulders, offering his support and comfort while keeping Ianto on his feet.
"Just look," Jack directs. "Look," he says again, pointing at the monitor.
Ianto finally focuses on the screen. The sight that greets him leaves him gasping for breath. Adam… shoving him, attacking him, something making him scream in agony. Ianto starts to shake. Jack steps back as Ianto moves closer to the screen, but he doesn't let Ianto go. As Ianto stares at the images of himself screaming from Adam's touch, Jack's hands are on his back, grounding him, calming him.
"I… I don't understand…" Ianto says in a ragged whisper.
Jack stops the playback and turns Ianto, holding onto his shoulders, never breaking contact. "I don't understand either, but it's clear that Adam did something to you, to all of us. He's messed with our memories somehow - think about Gwen. Did you listen to the playback? Did you hear what he was saying to you?"
Ianto nods jerkily, unable to speak, but his lips form the word remember.
"He put those thoughts in your head, Ianto. Somehow, he made you believe it, but you are not a murderer. Do you believe me now?"
"How… how could you know?" Ianto whispers. "When I was sure? When the lie detector said it was true?"
Jack's eyes soften and he steps forward to wrap himself around Ianto. "I just knew," he says softly, his lips brushing Ianto's ear.
Ianto melts into Jack's embrace, relief washing over him like a wave.
"Now," Jack says a few moments later, still holding Ianto close. "What are we going to do about Adam?"
TBC in Chapter Sixty
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/103855.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Rating: R
Warnings: Nothing really, just didn't feel like changing the rating
Spoilers: Season Two thru Adam (2x05)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. All ©'s to Catherine Tregenna for situations and dialogue borrowed from Adam. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: Jack's unwavering faith in Ianto saves the day…
Notes: Sorry sorry! I'm a week late. My posting will really depend on whether I'm having a 60 hour week at work, or just a 50 hour - somehow those last 10 hours just kill me. Thanks again to everyone who's reading and commenting! You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Fifty-Nine
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: Ianto discovers who Adam really is and pays a terrible price for his realisation…
Ianto shakes his head and tries to remember why he's sitting on the floor of the Hub in the dark. Based on how stiff he is, he has to imagine he's been on the cold concrete for a while. He slowly drags himself up until he can reach his computer. A few clicks and he verifies that everyone has left, he's alone in the Hub. He glances at his watch. It's after three, the bars will be closing soon… He's overwhelmed with the desire to go hunting. He can almost taste it. No! He clenches his fists and pounds them against his temples. I won't do it again, I won't! His head aches, it feels as if he's been hitting it against a brick wall. He slumps back to the floor, cradling his head in his hands. I won't leave, I won't hurt anyone, I won't go out there…
Minutes, maybe hours later, Ianto isn't sure, Jack walks through the cog door. Ianto makes up his mind in that instant. He's not strong enough to stop himself. He needs Jack to stop him, to lock him away where he can't hurt anyone again.
"Jack," he whispers, the faint sound carrying across the silence of the Hub like a whip.
Jack freezes for a long moment and then turns and spies Ianto huddled on the floor by the spiral staircase. He lets out a sigh. "Ianto," he says, the relief so clear in his voice that Ianto wonders who he'd been expecting.
"Hey," Jack says as he approaches Ianto's workstation. "What's wrong?"
Ianto feels his heart breaking, but he forces himself to confess to his Captain. "You have to put me in the vaults," he says, unable to hold back his tears. "Lock me up. I killed three girls. Strangled them."
Jack stares at him, disbelief fighting with anger in his expression. "Stop kidding around."
"I'm serious," Ianto says, meeting Jack's eyes. "I murdered them in cold blood. I took their bodies and -" He's suddenly assailed with a memory of how small, how light the body of the third girl was. She felt like a bird in his arms. He's on his feet, seeing both the Hub and the abandoned warehouse where he buried the girl at the same time, the images overlapping and merging, confusing him.
Jack steps back, concern replacing the anger on his face.
"You have to lock me away," Ianto begs. "Before I turn on you. None of you are safe!" He heads for the stairs to the vaults, meaning to lock himself in a cell if Jack won't do it.
"Hey," Jack calls out, grabbing Ianto's arm when he doesn't respond. "Hey, come here. Come here!" Jack stills Ianto's flight, holds him by the shoulders so he can look in his eyes. "What's happened to you?" he asks.
Ianto can't answer. He doesn't know how he turned into something so evil. He can barely meet Jack's gaze, shame coursing through his body.
Jack pulls Ianto into his arms, wrapping him in a tight embrace, and for the first time in ages, Ianto feels like he's right where he belongs. He forgets everything for a moment but the feel of Jack's body against his and the touch of Jack's hand on his hair and wonders why being held by Jack feels so right. But then it all comes crashing back.
"I'm a monster," he whispers.
Jack is silent for a few heart beats and then he shakes his head. "You're not a monster, Ianto. Tell me why you're saying these things."
"Because they're true," Ianto moans. "I can't live with it anymore, you have to lock me away, keep them safe." He tries to pull away but Jack simply tightens his arms.
"No, stay here, talk to me. How... no, wait, when did you kill these girls? Give me some details."
"I… I don't remember," Ianto admits. "It was raining," he adds with a sniffle.
Jack snorts. "That hardly narrows down the timeframe." He loosens his arms enough that he can look at Ianto directly. "What did you do tonight after I dropped you off. You were fine then. What happened between then and now."
"N-nothing," Ianto says. He wrinkles his brow as he tries to remember. "Tosh and Owen were working on that artefact… I was going to help… I came upstairs to… to look for… something, I can't remember."
Jack shakes his head. He lets Ianto go, but only so he can cup Ianto's face between his hands. "I don't believe this. Not of you."
"But I can remember…" Ianto whispers.
Pulling him close, Jack shakes his head again.
Ianto clings to Jack, wishing he has the right to stay in Jack's arms, wishing this is where he belongs.
"Come on," Jack murmurs after a few moments, stepping away from Ianto. "I have an idea how to prove that you didn't kill anyone. Come on," he repeats when Ianto simply stands where Jack has left him.
Jack walks over to his office and tosses his greatcoat on the chair. Out of habit, Ianto picks up the coat and hangs it properly on the coat rack while Jack opens the secure archives and begins searching for an item.
"Get comfortable," Jack orders as he waits for the correct container to spin around to the front of the safe.
Ianto hesitates and then follows Jack's command, removing his suit coat and rolling up his sleeves. He sits in the chair opposite Jack's desk as Jack finds what he's looking for.
"Okay, I want you to tell me everything you remember about these murders you say you committed," Jack says. He sets a machine on his desk and perches on the edge, fastening electrodes to Ianto's forearms. "I want details, anything you can think of."
Ianto nods, willing to do anything Jack asks.
Jack places the last piece of the machine in its slot and focuses the green light at Ianto. "Best lie detector on the planet," he explains. "If something's untrue, the light turns red. Go."
Ianto takes a deep breath. He forces himself to remember his first victim. "My… hands… on her throat." He starts to tremble with the memory. "It felt so good, squeezing the life out of her."
Jack rests his chin on his hands, watching at the light remains a steady, bright green.
"It reads as truth!" Ianto cries.
Jack takes a breath and looks Ianto square in the eyes. "I don't believe it," he says roughly, ignoring all the evidence in front of him. Without dropping Ianto's gaze, Jack speaks again. "Okay, tell me about the second girl."
Ianto feels tears start to fall. He stifles a sob. "She tried to get away… but I was too quick. Pleading… and I… I didn't care. Something in me wants to kill."
"No," Jack says with a small shake of his head. "This is not you." He grabs the green light and rips it out of the machine as he stands up. "Something's changed you." He lets his hand rest heavily on Ianto's shoulder as he walks past him. "You're not a murderer. I'm certain of it."
Ianto clings to the conviction in Jack's voice, hoping against hope that he could be right. But then the memory of that cold, rainy alley hits him and he starts to shake. He knows he's a killer, he can feel it in his bones. With trembling fingers, he peels the electrodes from the lie detector off his arms and slowly stands. When he's sure his knees won't buckle, he joins Jack in the Hub.
Jack is standing at the nearest workstation, reviewing footage from the internal CCTV. Ianto starts to collapse, holding his head in his hands as pain rips through his skull again. He grabs the banister to keep from falling and lets himself drop onto the stairs behind him. Ianto stares at the computer, tries to focus on the images Jack is pulling up, but all he can see are the faces of his victims. When Jack turns to look at him again, Ianto cringes, sure that Jack has found proof of his crimes. He resists at first when Jack tries to pull him up, not wanting to see the belief in him fade from Jack's eyes.
"Come here," Jack says. "Come here!"
Ianto lets himself be pulled up and over to the computer. Jack positions Ianto in front of the monitor and wraps his arm around Ianto's shoulders, offering his support and comfort while keeping Ianto on his feet.
"Just look," Jack directs. "Look," he says again, pointing at the monitor.
Ianto finally focuses on the screen. The sight that greets him leaves him gasping for breath. Adam… shoving him, attacking him, something making him scream in agony. Ianto starts to shake. Jack steps back as Ianto moves closer to the screen, but he doesn't let Ianto go. As Ianto stares at the images of himself screaming from Adam's touch, Jack's hands are on his back, grounding him, calming him.
"I… I don't understand…" Ianto says in a ragged whisper.
Jack stops the playback and turns Ianto, holding onto his shoulders, never breaking contact. "I don't understand either, but it's clear that Adam did something to you, to all of us. He's messed with our memories somehow - think about Gwen. Did you listen to the playback? Did you hear what he was saying to you?"
Ianto nods jerkily, unable to speak, but his lips form the word remember.
"He put those thoughts in your head, Ianto. Somehow, he made you believe it, but you are not a murderer. Do you believe me now?"
"How… how could you know?" Ianto whispers. "When I was sure? When the lie detector said it was true?"
Jack's eyes soften and he steps forward to wrap himself around Ianto. "I just knew," he says softly, his lips brushing Ianto's ear.
Ianto melts into Jack's embrace, relief washing over him like a wave.
"Now," Jack says a few moments later, still holding Ianto close. "What are we going to do about Adam?"
TBC in Chapter Sixty
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/103855.html. Please comment there using OpenID.